Culture of Pride.

While I was working at Intel, I learned what a truly successful culture looked like. Somehow Intel had cultivated a culture of pride: pride of ones work, ones product, ones company, and ones peers. When I founded Bigfoot Networks with my 2 good friends from Business school (props to Mike Cubbage and Bob Grim), I wanted to somehow ensure that a culture of pride, one where people actually WANT to work was developed.

For four years, I was CEO of Bigfoot Networks, and within the first few months of our founding, I had convinced the team that a formalized culture with certain common values was a good thing. My first draft of our mission and values statement (corny to those who haven't really lived one), was accepted by all without modification (they didn't know what they were in for!)!

Our mission:
We fight lag win Innovation.
Our common Values:
Ownership
Passion
Flexibility & Redemption
Directness

These had specific definition so there was no confusion what we meant (see below). In practice these 4 things combined to create a culture of pride, just like at Intel. Many employees have said to me that the culture WAS the reason they joined Bigfoot, and it WAS the thing they liked the most about working there. We took our culture VERY seriously, and everyone made an effort to know it and to live it (most importantly perhaps, myself, as CEO). Ownership was 'lived' in every meeting, where owners were delegated ownership (not tasks). Passion pervaded our work, and those who didn't have it were asked politely to move on (hopefully to something they WERE passionate about). Flexibility was being a startup, but screwing up meant redemption. And all of this in as direct a manner as I know how to live.

Every year, I asked employees to talk about Culture and review what worked and what didn't. Only after 2 years and a team the size of 20 did a new facet to our culture get introduced: Teamwork. It was already implicit in what we did, but we weren't giving it any credit. In fact, we were celebrating owners and not teams. We added that to our mix and it was for the better: we no longer celebrated individuals as a group but instead celebrated wins as a team. (yes I wasn't very good at it, but I tried!)

Now I'm off on a new adventure, starting a new company. We are yet again trying our best to build a culture of Pride... but now in a new unique way. More to come in a future post.

---

Full definitions of the culture from Bigfoot:

Ownership:
I COMPLETELY OWN the work I am assigned.
Ownership includes planning, execution, and analysis.
Execution includes driving those around me for the things I need to be successful, even the CEO.
Everything that matters has an owner.
I am responsible for the work I do, and the work that others do for my project.
When complete, I am proud of what I've done

Directness:
I never punish or squash ideas, feedback, or directness, even when its painful.
I listen to others, and I am listened to.
I am direct with feedback and ideas, I never hold back, even when its painful.
I don’t keep Secrets or practice Politics.
I use Constructive Collaboration to strive for a win-win-or-no-deal solution for all.
I don’t discriminate, pre-judge, or harass anyone for any reason: great ideas come from diversity.

Passion:
I am passionate about what I do.
I know I add value, and what I do matters.
I continue to learn new things in and out of the office: and I share my knowledge when I can.
When I encounter problems or issues, I look at them as learning opportunities.
I know where the company, my team, and myself are going, and the plan to get there.

Flexibility and Redemption:
I enjoy being stretched, and doing things I’ve never done before: whatever it takes.
I make fast decisions, taking calculated risks for speed.
Flexibility is my weapon: I don’t let momentum make me do the wrong things right.
If I make a mistake, I announce it: I know Redemption is possible and flexibility means sometimes being wrong.
If others make a mistake, I give them the opportunity and tools for Redemption.

Teamwork:
I celebrate wins as a team.
I recognize individuals only in light of the team.
I never leave a team-mate alone.
I strive to better not only myself but also my team.
The team grows when I teach and share my knowledge freely.

photo attribution

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/ / CC BY 2.0